Being

One of the things I pray for daily is that the Lord will cause me to be the disciple he has called me to be.  By that I don't mean to say that I ask him to cause me to do more stuff, more service.  While I certainly ask him to direct my words and my actions, those are separate requests from being.  The doing is the what of discipleship, being is the why.

I want to first be faithful and then faithfully carried out the work he has for me to accomplish, to embrace, prepare for and to keep the divine appointments God has for me daily.  To be righteous is not to do righteous stuff or refrain from unholy things.  Many people do righteous or holy things for unrighteous or unholy reasons.  I can think of a widely known televangelist who spent a great deal of air time calling out infidelity in others, giving cover to his personal adultery.

There have been many a faithful church goer who faithfully attend that church in order to expand their book of business.  Young men have been known to attend church regularly until they win the hand of a certain young lady and then suddenly feels called to fish and/or hunt every weekend, often saying, "I can worship God on the lake or in the wood just as easily as in a building."  Why, then was he in that building until  he won her hand?  Not for worship, that is obvious.

Churches are filled with hypocrites, people who say and do one thing but inwardly are something else entirely.  So often there is a great disconnect between what people do and who people are.  While being will always lead to doing, doing will rarely, if ever, change who or what one is.  For instance, one who is a fisherman at heart will find time and opportunity to fish.  On the other hand, someone who goes fishing in order to spend time with someone, make a sales pitch or make an impression, will not likely become a true fisherman.

Doing, by the way, is so much easier than being because doing lies on the surface and being drills deep into the soul.  Becoming is a lifelong process.  I am daily in the process of becoming a faithful disciple of Jesus Christ.  My pursuit is daily and it will last a lifetime.  Going to church is something I can do one week and not the other, I can study my Bible today and not pick it up for a month, I can do all kinds of disciple like things with little or no committment or effort.  But I cannot be a disciple without a constant and permanent change.

I don't have to pray to go to church, read my Bible or make a contribution, I can just do those things at will.  But to become, to be a disciple, a true follower of Jesus Christ, for that I must pray daily for God's hand in my life.  I can do but I cannot become unless he empowers me, unless he calls me, unless he changes me by His Spirit.  “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them, and I will raise them up at the last day" (Jn 6:44).  Jus' Say'n.

Confession

Growing up in the church, I got to hear a lot of confessions butt very little confessed.  Much of the time, the confession went something like, "I have committed sin" or "I want to repent of my sins."  What sin was committed against whom was seldom to never mentioned  I almost never heard of what the individual was repenting.  Asking for forgiveness often sounded like, I'm sorry if anyone was offended or perhaps I'm sorry if I offended anyone.

The Lord says, "Confess your sins one to another and pray for one another and you will be healed" (Js 5:16).  He didn't say to confess that you had sinned, that's a forgone conclusion as "all sin and fall short of the glory of God" (Rom3:23). What needs to be confessed is the sin you committed and against whom you sinned.  Then we have something to pray for specifically.  And, the offended party is given an opportunity to forgive as well.

We don't want to name our sin because it is so embarrassing.  Our pride is wounded and we loose face.  However, pride is not our friend but our enemy and the first among things that keeps us from doing God's will in preference of our own.  By not naming the sin, we are not accepting full responsibility and we are not acknowledging the injury done to another.  There is no chance of release from a sin that we hold close to our chest.

There is also no chance for another to forgive you of something no named or admitted.  The offended individual does not know that you are repenting from the hurt or suffering you caused if you have not named it.  They do not know if you even begin to understand the offence or the pain you have inflicted if you approach it generically.  We must be specific.

Confession is good for the soul, it frees us from the grip of the sin and allows others to move past the offence.  Don't let Satan keep you in the grip of guilt and regret, instead, allow God to forgive and free you from its power.  Go ahead, name it and claim it as your own and let the offended party know for what you are sorry and repent.  Healing for you both will follow.   Jus' Say'n.

Good Soil

“A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown" (Matt 13:3-8).

The farmer, in this parable, is the Lord.  The seed is the Word of God.  The ground represents the hearts of people.  The good soil represents the hearts of those who are faithful followers of Christ.  As Christians, we assume that the good soil represents us and the other three soils represent the rest of the world.  However, that ain't necessarily so.

The good soil doesn't represent a class of people, it represents a state of the heart.  The good soil, free of hardness, thorns and rock, is able to receive the word of God, allow it to grow and produce fruit of the Spirit.  Good soil, however, doesn't just exist, it must be cultivated.  As Hosea said, "break up your unplowed ground; for it is time to seek the Lord" (10:12).

What might otherwise be wonderful ground for producing a rich harvest will remain fallow or unproductive until it is cultivated.  The ground must be plowed, the weeds must be plowed under and the rocks removed before the seed is sowed into the ground in preparation of the harvest.  In other words, our hearts must be prepared to receive the Word of God in order for it to take root and grow.

Another thing about good soil and harvest, it doesn't just keep on being good and producing a harvest - it must be continuously cultivated.  The weeds will return, rocks can work their way to the surface, the ground can become dry and hardened.  A farmer doesn't just sow his seeds and then go on vacation until harvest time, he is in the fields working the land up until the harvest.  And then, after the harvest, the ground is worked again in preparation for the next season.

Although you may be a Christian, who has received the Word of God, which has taken root, you may have allowed thorns to grow up in the rows.  The ground may have hardened again or rock may have worked their way back to the surface.  Your heart may have grown hard over the years, your fears and anxieties may have overwhelmed your faith, the soil of your heart may be fallow or unproductive once again.

As Christians, we need to continuously be seeking after the Lord.  We must be daily in prayer and in the Word.  We must be serving in the kingdom.  We must be looking for divine opportunities to share our faith and serve our God.  We must be reaching out to other, giving them a helping hand, pointing them to heaven's shores.  Good soil, is soil that is cultivated often in order to keep it receptive to the seed, allowing it to take root and continue to grow.

What about you?  Are you actively cultivating your heart?  Is the soil of your heart still broken and receptive to the Word?  Is it's soil worked daily to keep out the weeds and the rocks and the hardening effect of inactivity?  Is your heart still good soil?  Jus' Ask'n.

The Coin of The Realm

Every civilization, every culture, every country apart from a purely barter system has a currency or coin of some kind, something of value with which to purchase things of need or desire.  It might be something of assigned value in itself such as gold or silver, or it might be a representative of that value such as paper money, hard coin or even digital money.  Whatever it is, that is the thing of value we need to have in order meet our needs in that society.

Some, unwilling to work for and earn coin of the realm, attempt to substitute for the real currency.  They may use fake gold, imitation diamonds or counterfeit bills; the point is that what they use isn't authentic currency and has no real value.  And while it may fool some temporarily, it will be found out in time as only that which is real will stand the test of time.  Counterfeiters are not unaware of this truth, which is why they try to get rid of the counterfeit as soon as possible, trading it in on real currency.

In the heavenly kingdom, a coin of the realm exists as well.  It is not in gold or silver as Jesus plainly teaches in Matthew 6:19-21, where he warn us not to waste our time gathering up "treasures on earth"  but instead to "store up treasures in heaven."  All the things of this earthly realm that are considered valuable have no value in heaven.  Not even the entire world contains enough value to trade for a single soul (cf. Matt 26:26).

The coin of the heavenly realm is but one thing: FAITH.  As the writer of the Book of Hebrews reveals to us, "without faith it is impossible to please God."  As he goes on to say, "because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him."  It is God's "grace through faith" (Eph 2:8) that affords our salvation - our place in the kingdom.

As with all coin of the realm, there are those who will attempt to supplant it with a counterfeit.  But counterfeit faith, while it may fool some for a time, maybe even a lifetime, it will not fool God for a moment: "For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account" (Heb 4:12-13).

The coin of God's realm is faith and authentic, acceptable faith is a living, working faith while the counterfeit is dead.  As James put it, "As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead" (Js 2:26).  Our need is to to have faith - real, active, living faith.  Anything less is counterfeit.  anything less will not be accepted as coin of the realm.  Jus' Say'n.

Sharpening Iron

It doesn't seem possible that I went through basic training in the Air Force over 40 years ago.  Many of the memories have dimmed but one thing is crystal clear: Everything we were called on to do was against the grain.  We were pushed to extremes to not simply test our limits but to stretch our limits, sharpening and honing our skills, increasing our abilities.  Our training instructor was not there to "grease the skids" but to add resistance to our forward motion.

This may seem counter intuitive at first, putting resistance in the way of progress but it is based on tried and true principles of growth and development.  We find this principle in the wisdom literature of the Old Testament: "As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another" (Prov 27:17).  For iron to sharpen iron, both pieces cannot be moved in the same direction.  The sharpening requires that each piece goes against the other, causing resistance and friction that allows a stripping away and honing of the edge, leaving it sharp and ready for battle or field or kitchen.

In order to build muscle, resistance must be applied and increased as one develops.  This is true of brain development, skill development, all development.  We learn to stand,walk and run because we increasingly go against the resistance of gravity until we develop the strength of muscle, knowledge of forward motion and skill of balance to a degree that we can ambulate at will.

Marriages develop, not when the couple always agree on everything, that would leave them where they started, but rather when they work through the resistance of disagreements and struggle against the disparate will and understand of the other, seeking to come to a common ground.  That struggle against the grain of one another with purpose causes the sharpening of married life.

This is how God develops us.  When we wonder why a difficulty is allowed into our life, instead of trying to determine fault as in "What did I do to deserve this?", we ought to seek the answer to "How can I grow and develop from this?" of "What is God sharpening me to accomplish?"  Listen to the words of the apostle Paul, "… suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame..." (Rom 5:3-5).

I don't want to suggest that the sharpening process is easy, far from it.  I don't think that we can be expected to necessarily enjoy the process.  But we can find purpose and have hope, which will allow us to embrace what God allows, experiencing the growth and development God desires for us.  Jus' Say'n.

Encouraging Words

When I was a young boy, one of the lyrics I would often sing went something like "Home, home on the range. Where the deer and the antelope play. Where seldom is heard a discouraging word. And the sky is not cloudy all day."  The song captured the image of an idyllic world, which included freedom from discouraging talk.

We don't live in an ideal world, not since the fall of man recorded in the Book of Genesis.  And despite the climate change/carbon footprint theology of our day, we can't control the weather to suit us.  We can't ensure ample crops or adequate hunting. We simply are not in control of our environment or circumstances of life.

However, we are in control of our expressions. We can't always control our attitude and feelings aren't choices at all. But we can absolutely decide our responses to circumstance and stimuli. We can choose to utter words that build up or tear down. Regardless of the weather or whether we live in abundance or want, we decide if words of encouragement or discouragement will come out of our mouths.

Not that "Home on The Range" is a hymn of the Church, but it does reflect God's will concerning the choice in negative or positive verbiage: "Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen" (Eph 4:29).

Human beings are designed to respond well to encouraging words, we, in point of fact, need them. It isn't just enough to know or believe we are valued, we need to hear it. Why do you keep telling your wife you love her?  Didn't you let her know that when you got married?  Why do you keep telling your son how smart he is?  Haven't you done that already?  You keep on saying encouraging things because you innately know it is needed and helpful.

Did you know your employees, co-workers, church members, pastors, friends, etc. all would benefit from those same encouraging words?  We all do for one very simple reason, we focus on what is pointed out to us. If positive things are pointed out, that's what we tend to see. If negative things are pointed out then that is what we see.

The reason that is so important is that what we see conditions how we perceive ourselves. Listen to the words of Jesus: “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, c your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are unhealthy, d your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!" (Matt 6:22-23).  If we focus on positives, we brighten up. If we focus negatives, we are darkened or depressed in spirit.

By our words, we contribute to the spiritual, emotional and mental health of another and our self. What should you choose?  What will you choose?  Will you follow the teaching and example of our Lord Jesus Christ or not?  Jus' Ask'n.

Collateral Damage

I was reading a horrible narrative in Judges 19-21 this morning of a Levite whose concubine was offered up to  a group of evil men who surrounded the house where he was staying demanding he be sent out so they might have sex with him.

They settled on the concubine, took turns raping her throughout the night and in the morning the Levite came out to find her dead at the doorway.  He put he on his donkey, took her body home where he cut it up in twelve pieces and sent it to each of the tribes of Israel, calling for justice against the evil men of Gibeah, a town of Benjamin.

Israel came together sending a fighting force to Gibeah, demanding the evil men be turned over, which was denied by the city leaders.  A word was sent out to the tribal leaders of Benjamin, who sent a large fighting force to defend the city and war broke out in Israel.  Tens of thousands of deaths later, the matter was settled when the tribe of Benjamin was nearly wiped off the face of the earth.

Israel stopped short of total annilation and even helped to reestablish the decimated tribe but the lost of life and property was staggering.  The amount of collateral damage in bringing justice to the land was geometrically greater than that of the original injustice.  And yet, the fighting was sanctioned by God: "The Israelites went up and wept before the Lord until evening, and they inquired of the Lord. They said, 'Shall we go up again to fight against the Benjamites, our fellow Israelites?'  The Lord answered, 'Go up against them'" (Judg 20:23).

War is a terrible thing, but evil unchecked is worse.  Allowing evil men to openly take, use, abuse and kill strangers seeking hospitality as in the case of Gibeah could not be allowed to take cultural root in Israel, the evil had to be excised, regardless of the cost.  Just as a leg or a lung might be cut away to stop a cancer from spreading throughout the body.  The loss of limb or vital organ is lamentable but necessary for the greater good.

Look at the horrible amount of collateral damage required to stop the aggression of Japan in WWII.  It was absolutely unparalleled in its terrible cost.  But to have left Imperial Japan's agenda for world domination go unchecked was unthinkable.  They had to be stopped.

I hate war.  I particularly hate the collateral loss of innocent lives in war.  Doing all we can to avoid war through diplomatic channels and other non-violent means ought always be the first choice but never the last effort if it is not successful in abating evil.  Where do you think ISIS will stop if they are not stopped by outside forces?  What about Russia?  Did they stop at the border of Crimea?  Has it stopped taking ground in Ukraine?  What about China building islands for landing strips in the international waters of the China Sea - will they stop there?  Iran?

I don't know the answers to all the geo-political problems we face.  I wish we could just withdraw and walk away from the aggression, but history tells us we cannot.  Evil men, and there are evil men with evil intentions in the countries I've just mentioned, do not stop until someone stops them.  We have to be involved despite the collateral loss of innocents or worse will come.  However, we cannot afford to be involved without God.  We need to be in prayer daily, asking for ways around military conflict and protection for the unintended victims.  But ready for the fray.

War is here and it seems will be for some time if not until Christ comes again.  The radical Muslims have not stopped fighting the Crusades.  They are still intent on overcoming and dominating or destroying all non-Muslims.  If they get nuclear weapons and a delivery system, the whole world may be the collateral damage of their ideology.  Jus' Say'n.